China Holds Economic Foothold in Latin America as Trump Targets Venezuela

China has built a dominant strategic position in Latin America as the region’s leading lender and trading partner, and it is watching President Trump’s power grab in Venezuela and his broader push against Chinese influence closely. Chinese trade with the region grew to more than $500 billion in 2024, and China has become Latin America’s largest official source of aid and credit, providing an estimated $303 billion in financing from 2000 to 2023, according to AidData.

Chinese firms extract copper in Peru and lithium in Argentina, import soybeans from Brazil, run utilities and ports, build roads and dams, and sell consumer brands across the region. China is still owed, by one estimate, about $10 billion by Venezuela, which has been repaying loans with oil shipments; last year more than half of Venezuela’s crude exports — 768,000 barrels per day — went to China, according to Kpler.

Mr. Trump has signaled a wider strategy to curb China’s advances, including public threats involving the Panama Canal operator CK Hutchison, criticism of Mexico as a conduit for Chinese goods and a tariff posture toward Brazil, and a national security strategy that says the United States will deny “competitors” the ability “to own or control strategically vital assets, in our hemisphere.” China has protested U.S.

Key Topics

Business, China, Latin America, Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, Xi Jinping